The Construction and Use of Polysemic Structures: Olympic Lessons for Sport Marketing

Research seeking to describe and explain the extraordinary attention received by the Olympic Games has elaborated useful models of fan interest and motivation. In this paper, implications for the theory and practice of marketing sport are reviewed. Olympics research shows that audience interest is maximized via the simultaneous presence of multiple narratives, embedded genres, and layered symbols. Multiple narratives create stories attractive to varied audience segments by recounting dramas of enduring cultural interest or by incorporating contemporary, nonsport political or social concerns. Embedded genres (e.g., festival, spectacle, ritual, game) appeal to a diverse audience by serving as parallel and simultaneous invitations to consumer interest. Appropriately layered symbols (e.g., awards, banners, flags, uniforms, anthems) promote spectator interest by making ceremonies and rituals representative of more than a mere game or contest. The use of multiple narratives, embedded genres, and layered symbols in the planning, design, and promotion of sporting events is discussed. These strategies are contrasted with positioning (i.e., communication strategies designed to obtain a unique representation for products in consumers' minds). It is argued that multiple narratives, embedded genres, and layered symbols function affectively and thereby complement positioning, which functions cognitively, as marketing strategies.